I'd been weeding and stood up to brush off, what looked like, sticks from my hat. It was this little fellow - we both got quite a surprise!
We then popped him on to one of the Loquat tree's leaves, so he could recover from his close encounter and then go on his way at his own pace. I'll be keeping an eye out for him (or her) in future.
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Our resident Phasmid |
Here's a link to the Australian Museum which explains about these delightful creatures. (I love how their young are called nymphs!)
Susan, they are nature's bug zapper for the little wormy creatures that eat up the gardens. I keep about 4 every year in ours. :-) (although I had no idea the young were called nymphs--love it!)
ReplyDeleteCherri
A Stick Insect is it?
ReplyDeleteI "met" one for real a while ago... the poor thing has decided to live on one of the tires of my car...no need to tell you what song and dance i went through to dislodge it as it looked so alien to me! :)
It's huge. I think I would squeal if I found it sitting on me.
ReplyDeleteSusan she is gorgeous and huge I have never seen one that big before they must grow them big in your part of the world. Cool pic. B
ReplyDeleteMethinks the world would be a better place if we were phasmids and bore females unless we mated with a male!
ReplyDelete> Cherri, I just love how describe them, as well as being aware of, and keeping, them in your garden! That's real cool :D)
ReplyDeleteI'm certainly going to keep a good eye out for ours from now on. I can see I might've mistaken their young for ants in the past, after reading up on them ... oh dear!
> Dee Bee, ha ha... oh yes, they do look so alien. What a strange place for it to live too - perhaps it was laying eggs --- oh no, even more stickies for you to contemplate ;-)
> Joan Elizabeth, I must admit, it took me a few seconds to realise just what was on my hat!! Boy, they can stick to something when they want to :D)
> Buttons, thanks B... and after reading about them, there are even bigger ones around too !
> Mary, isn't nature amazing how these things work! The difference in their life spans too. The females live for about 18 months and the males for only 6-8 months.
I like your new profile pic Mary :D)
Hi Susan! I'm back ;) Thank you for thinking of me! Your stick insect is huge! We get smaller ones here although I have seen large ones elsewhere. Thank you for the informative link :)
ReplyDeleteLove it. Isn't nature just amazing? :)
ReplyDeleteWow, you grow them big where you live! I don't mind stick insects but praying mantis are nasty little creatures with an attitude problem.
ReplyDelete> Desiree, hi! Hope you enjoyed your break :D) Glad you enjoyed meeting our friendly stick(wo)man!
ReplyDelete> Vicki, aw yes, you're sooo right. Always something new to discover :D)
> Robyn, it really surprised me, its size!
The praying mantis have such an alien-looking head don't they. I was quite intrigued after taking photos of it a while back. Now you've got me intrigued about its attitude... will have to investigate ;-)
GLAUCKK! That's a big one. Never seen one that big. We have 'walking sticks' here, but don't see them often. I used to see them as a kid in Kansas. I will have to go on to your link to see why they are so delightful. I've always been afraid of them. But georgeous photos Susan! You captured him well. He or she had better be good to you!
ReplyDelete> Susan, ha ha! I like the 'walking sticks' name - that's cute! We also have a smaller, thinner version we'd call Daddy-Long-Legs - they look different, but are basically a collection of long thin legs :D)
ReplyDeleteI just found the stick insect delightful because it was quite harmless (to me) and was happy to 'stick' around on my shoulder. It quite liked my hair too.
Thanks re the photos... I'll tell MD - he took them :D)
We call them walking sticks over here! Great post, by the way.
ReplyDeleteLinda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
http://deltacountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com/
wow....it absolutely does just look like a twig..... never seen one of course.....
ReplyDelete> Linda, hi and thank you! That's such a cute name too.. love it :D)
ReplyDelete> BumbleVee, ha ha, you'll have to keep an eye out - they might be starting to thaw out over your way now ;-)
great photo....i have also seen these but never that big...
ReplyDeletei love to garden but am not a huge fan of these critters!!
I have never seen a stick insect that big before!
ReplyDelete> Debbie, I was quite amazed at its size too ... when researching I found out there are much larger ones - aaargh! LOL :D)
ReplyDelete> Tammy, never know what's hiding in the garden do we ;-)
oh, my, it's HUGE!! this reminds me: I found the tiniest preying mantis I've ever seen on a hydrangea leaf the other day. Insects can be just as fascinating as the mammals, eh?
ReplyDelete> Dmarie, oh how lovely - yes, I agree, the insect world is quite incredible!
ReplyDeletenow THAT's a monster STICK bug!!
ReplyDeletewe have them here too...but NOT THAT BIG!!
wow! thanks for sharing that one!!
i LOVE bugs!!
> Laura, ha ha... love it that you love it!! Yep, bugs are beautiful in their own special way aren't they :D)
ReplyDeletehi there! i came over from Debbie's place (It's All About Purple). Congrats on your award! I was perusing a bit here and I have to say, you had me at the wombat scat. I'm following along now! :)
ReplyDelete> Texwisgirl, hi there and a warm welcome to my blog. Thank you for joining it too!
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, we had fun with the wombat scat didn't we! Cheers :D)